Submission of nomination papers for participation in general elections kicked off on Wednesday. According to schedule issued by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the desiring candidates could get and submit the nomination papers till 4:30 pm December 22. On December 23, preliminary list of the candidates will be released while scrutiny of nomination papers will be held from 24th to 30th December. As per the schedule, electoral symbols will be allotted to the candidates on January 13 and polling for the general elections will be held on February 8. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Tuesday issued guidelines for candidates to submit nomination papers. The ECP said that nomination papers can be submitted from December 20 to 22.

The fee for obtaining the nomination papers is fixed at Rs.100. A candidate can submit a maximum of five nomination papers with different endorsers. The fee for the candidate of the National Assembly seat is Rs30,000 (non-refundable) while the fee for the candidate of the Provincial Assembly seat is Rs20,000 (non-refundable). The candidate shall attach the income tax return documents of the last three years with the nomination papers. The basic qualification for the candidate is to be a citizen of Pakistan and not less than 25 years of age. As per ECP, contestants for National Assembly seats must be voters of any place in Pakistan.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)